The advent of stretch wrapping materials as a means of packaging goods for shipment has enabled shippers and packers to reduce the cost of packaging material and to a greater degree the weight of the packaging materials. The stretch wrap packaging uses a light-weight plastic film which is stretched about a load, usually situated on a pallet. The film contracts after being stretched and unitizes the load on the pallet. Although the film is usually less than a mil thick is has extraordinary strength when so applied, yet is also readily removed.
To package a load in this manner it is customary to dispense the film as the load is rotated so as to form a spiral of film about the load. While this basic concept is quite satisfactory for many applications, it has not been successfully applied to loads which are unstable and hence are pulled off the pallet by the film or slide off the pallet due to the absence of side support. In particular such items as empty cans and textiles are difficult to wrap in the conventional manner.